


Five Signs of the Werewolf

by ElizaHiggs



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Gen, POV Harry, Werewolves, mostly canon compliant, slightly AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 12:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7976542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizaHiggs/pseuds/ElizaHiggs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snape never subs for Lupin's class, and Lupin teaches the DADA lesson on werewolves</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Signs of the Werewolf

**Author's Note:**

> I needed to practice writing in past-tense (which for some reason I never seem to do) and this slid out. Because I'm new to this style, I intentionally channeled Rowling's prose as a guide, and thus this piece is from Harry's perspective. Feedback and constructive criticism are, as always, appreciated. :)
> 
> Information on werewolves generally taken from Pottermore, with the caveat that I assume Lupin knows nothing about the 'werecubs' running amok in the Forbidden Forest. 

"Today, we shall discuss  - werewolves."

Lupin set an artistic rendering of a werewolf - a perverted Vitruvian man - onto the projector, and a collective shiver slid over the class. Lavender Brown had actually sucked in her breath, but Lupin continued as if he had not noticed the exaggerated reaction. "If you will please turn to page 394. Your O.W.L. will usually call for you to identify the five signs of the werewolf" - Hermione, Harry noticed, sat up a little straighter - "so you would be well advised to commit them to memory. They are not difficult." Lupin tapped his wand to the projector, and the diagram shifted to a list of the five distinguishing features. "The snout of the werewolf... "

Harry glanced around. The Muggle-borns were wearing identical, nonplussed expressions. The others seemed nothing short of terrified. Ron looked as though he might be sick.

Given Lupin's habit of bringing live Dark Creatures into the classroom, Harry thought it was fortunate that Lupin had declined to bring a werewolf to class.

"Sir," Seamus Finnigan interjected at the end of Lupin's litany, "how can you identify the _human_ formof the werewolf?"

Lupin smiled indulgently. "Do you suppose you can?"

"Well, I dunno," Seamus said, screwing up his face in thought. "I suppose - I suppose you couldn't..."

"Would you need to?" Lupin pressed gently. "If a werewolf is in his human form, then he must by definition be un-transformed, and not capable of causing harm. At least," he corrected himself, "any more harm than any other wizard."

"But," Seamus continued, slightly abashed but clearly still agitated, "people might need to - to know..."

"What if it was _right before full moon_?" Dean Thomas asked eagerly. "And you met one on the street - "

"What if one tricked you?" asked Lavender, rather shrilly. "What if you someone you knew was a werewolf, and you didn't know?"

Hermione's hand was in the air. "Yes, Hermione," Lupin said to her, ignoring Lavender's and Dean's excited interjections.

"Sir, is there any _reason_ a werewolf might be dangerous in his human form?" she asked. "Does the curse affect behavior at any period outside of the full moon?" 

"I don't believe so," he said simply, with a small shake of his head. "A transformed werewolf, without the benefit of the Wolfsbane potion, is incapable of rational thought, and therefore a danger to humans, yes, but untransformed he retains his human mind as much as you or I."

"Sir," Dean spoke up again, "please sir, have you _met_ a werewolf?" 

Lupin's lips twitched, like he might smile, but when he spoke, his voice was grave. "Oh yes," he said. "In my line of work, it is rather unavoidable."

"Cool," said Dean appreciatively. 

"Is it true there are werewolf cubs living in the Forbidden Forest, Professor?" asked Parvati Patil, sounding, like Dean, more intrigued than distressed.

"The transmission of lycanthropy from parent to child is, for obvious reasons" - Harry thought he saw a shadow pass over Lupin's face - "largely untested. But there is, strictly speaking, no logical reason to believe that the curse might be transmitted in such a manner." The class stared at him, and he smiled at their bemused expressions. "So, no - no werecubs."

Hermione's hand was in the air again. "But sir," she said, looking thoughtful. "If that's true - if a werewolf is a wizard like any other when he's untransformed - then there's no justification at all for the prejudice surrounding them..."

"As usual, Hermione, you've spotted our problem - what is the proper way to handle this Dark Creature? Of all the Creatures we have studied thus far, he is the only one who is also a human being. Perhaps there is nothing we can do about people's fears - which are not completely unjustified. Some, like Fenrir Greyback" - Neville emitted a high-pitched squawk - "have earned their reputation. But ought werewolves, like dragons, to be subject to such strict Ministry regulation?"

"But the Ministry," Hermione looked quite anxious now, and Harry noticed that she had neglected to raise her hand again, but Lupin's attention never wavered from her. They might as well have been the only two people in the room. "The Ministry provides services, doesn't it? I read about the creation of the Werewolf Support Services division in _Magical Ministering, A History_ by Bathilda Bagshot..."

Lupin nodded thoughtfully. "Yes," he said, "it's true, the Ministry does provide some services - a safe place to transform, for instance - but the use of such services requires that the individual place his name on the Werewolf Registry, and most are loathe to do so. The Ministry does not offer Wolfsbane. Magical institutions, such as hospitals and schools, have checks in place that match names against the Registry. Employers and landlords run background checks - if a name is on the Registry, it will show up. Registration will effectively lock that individual out of Wizarding society."

Hermione broke eye contact and gazed, brow furrowed, out the window at the Spring blooming across the grounds. Lupin resumed the discussion of werewolf regulations, and covered the Werewolf Code of Conduct of 1637, but for the first time in Harry's memory, it seemed that Hermione was not paying any attention, and he didn't think she heard any of it. 


End file.
